Four illustrious North Carolina Tar Heels earn the 2025 Patterson Medal

The Patterson Medal is the most prestigious individual athletics award that the University of North Carolina has to offer.

Since 1924, the award has been presented to Tar Heels who made a significant mark on their respective program during their college career. In order to be eligible, a student-athlete must have competed in at least three seasons at North Carolina and must have used up their collegiate eligibility.

This year's list of recipients is a star-studded one, as four Tar Heels join the list of recipients for this outstanding award.

This year's North Carolina Patterson Medal recipients are as follows:

David Ford- Men's Golf
Ethan Strand- Track & Field/Cross Country
Parker Wolfe- Track & Field/Cross Country
Aranza Vázquez Montaño- Swimming

Ford was a record setter for the UNC men's golf program, earning two ACC Player of the Year awards while wrapping up his collegiate career by being named the consensus National Player of the Year. He shattered nearly every standard in the North Carolina men's golf record book, including:

-Single-season marks as a senior for scoring average (68.78)
-Combined score to par (-89)
-Combined score to par per round (-2.47)
-Rounds in the 60s (25); and
-Career records for scoring (70.13)
-Combined score to par (-162)
-Combined score to par per round (-1.13)
-Match play victories (10)

Not many athletes can say they have as many All-American honors as strand, a SEVEN-time selection. Of those, five are first-team All-American honors, showing just how elite he was during his five-year stint at North Carolina.

A five-time ACC Champion, Strand became the first Tar Heel (and only the fourth in ACC men's track history) to win the outdoor 1,500 event on three separate occasions. He set numerous records at North Carolina, including the indoor mile, 3000 and the outdoor 1,500.

Just when you thought Strand had a lot of All-American honors, just wait till you hear how many Wolfe has! During his time in Chapel Hill, Wolf won seven ACC titles and earned 11 All-American honors (four in cross country, five in indoor track and two for outdoor track).

Wolfe etched his name into the NCAA record books, as he ran the second-fastest indoor 3,000 and eight-fasted outdoor 5,000. He earned ACC Cross Country Runner of the Year honors twice during his distinguished career.

When it came to the pool, no one dominated like Vazquez Montano was able to do.

Another 11-time All-American selection, Vazquez Montano won eight ACC championships and was a three-time recipient of the Most Valuable Women's Diver award at the ACC Championships. She became the second diver in ACC history (the first in women's history) to capture four NCAA titles.

Vazquez Montano holds multiple Tar Heel records, and also set the ACC Championship record in the 1-meter diving event.

This group made a significant impact on the University of North Carolina. Their resumes simply speak for itself, as it will be difficult to find a more decorated group of student-athletes that have impacted their respective university as much as this group has during their tenures in Chapel Hill.

Now, they take their rightful place among some other North Carolina Tar Heel legends as the most recent recipients of the Patterson Medal.